Gain in U.S. retail sales underscores solid, steady consumer demand
Nine of 13 retail categories posted increases in June sales, including solid gains at electronics and appliance outlets, clothing stores and restaurants.
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Used-car frenzy makes for record prices, ‘cutthroat’ sales floor
The used-car lot, ordinarily a haven of haggling and wheeling-and-dealing, is now a hotbed for wallet-busting transactions.
Pfizer scheduled to discuss vaccine booster with U.S. officials
The company said it was scheduled to have the meeting with the Food and Drug Administration and other officials Monday, days after Pfizer asserted that booster shots would be needed within 12 months.
Iceland tested a 4-day workweek. Here’s what it found.
The large-scale work trials were conducted between 2015 and 2019, initiated by the Reykjavik City Council and the Icelandic national government in response to demands from trade unions and civil society organizations for shorter workweeks.
Authentic Brands, owner of Forever 21 and Brooks Brothers, files for IPO
Indianapolis-based Simon Property Group Inc. is among Authentic Brands Group’s largest shareholders.
U.S. rents still rising at rapid clip during busy time for lease renewals
The median national rent climbed 9.2% in the first half of 2021, according to Apartment List, and is still on the way up.
Investors are raising $100 million to buy unloved antiques
The demand for antique furniture is low, but a group of investors is betting it will increase again in the future.
UPDATE: Lilly to seek FDA approval for potential Alzheimer’s drug
Eli Lilly and Co. shares jumped more than 9% Thursday morning after it received “breakthrough therapy” designation for donanemab from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, putting the drug on a path that could expedite its development.
Jeweler Alex and Ani files bankruptcy after rapid expansion
Indianapolis-based mall owner Simon Property Group is among the retailer’s largest unsecured creditors; it is owed more than $3 million in rent payments.
Lilly’s stock gets big boost from competitor’s new Alzheimer’s treatment
Shares of Biogen competitors soared after aducanumab became the first drug cleared by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to slow the course of the mind-wasting disease that afflicts 6 million Americans.
Workers concerned about retailers ditching masks on vaccine honor system
Walmart, along with Costco Wholesale Corp. and Trader Joe’s, were among the first companies to ease their mask policy for vaccinated shoppers following a recommendation by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Microsoft investigated Gates’ involvement with employee
Dow Jones reported that Microsoft’s directors found Bill Gates’ involvement with the female employee to be inappropriate and decided last year that he had to step down from the board, citing people familiar with the matter who were not identified.
Rental companies buy up used cars as chip crisis deepens
The demand is sending used-car costs soaring. The Manheim Index, which measures prices at wholesale auctions, shows that they’re 52% higher than they were a year ago.
COVID once spared the young, but more are now being hospitalized
Faster-spreading variants of COVID-19 are sending more younger people to the hospital. Fatalities remain low, but doctors say the virus is now making the young sicker, some gravely.
Target to spend $2 billion with Black-owned companies
The cheap-chic retailer will also add products from more than 500 Black-owned companies across its aisles and help Black vendors expand their sales in big-box retail.
COVID mutants multiply as scientists race to decode variations
A key mystery plumbed early-on by top scientists has been what type of virus the coronavirus will prove to be. So far, it looks more similar to influenza, which shape-shifts all the time and requires annual revaccination, than it does measles.
U.S. forges ahead on $1 billion tariff plan over digital taxes
Goods entering the U.S.—ranging from Austrian grand pianos and British merry-go-rounds to Turkish Kilim rugs and Italian anchovies—could face tariffs of as much as 25% annually.
U.S. manufacturing surges most since 1983, underscoring rebound
All but one of 18 manufacturing industries reported growth in March, led by textiles, electrical equipment and appliances, machinery and computers and electronic products.
Biden to reveal major spending plan that calls for revamp of tax code
President Joe Biden has made clear his plans will include tax-policy changes to help fund what aides have laid out as a roughly $3 trillion long-term program.
Chip shortages force more cuts at North American auto plants
Consultant AlixPartners has said the global chip shortage could cost automakers $61 billion in lost sales this year. The recent setbacks could further delay an expected second-quarter recovery in output.